there was a folded piece of paper taped to that street lamp, the one with the street sign that said, "empty." jim was curious enough to take it, unfold it, and read it.

it simply said, in handwritten letters, "what do you hope will happen here? focus on it, and it just might happen."

it was a peculiar message, vague enough that he supposed it could have been meant for anyone, or for no one in particular. still, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was directed at him. it was on this street that he always walked down, in this exact area that he always focused on, that he thought was strangely hypnotic. he found it easy to imagine that something could happen here, even if he didn't really believe it.

he stood there for a moment, staring at the paper, thinking idly about what exactly it really meant, who might have put it there, what their intentions were.

"are you thinking about it?" someone asked, someone who he hadn't even noticed was now right behind him.

he turned to them. "well, not really."

"i suppose even you won't just obey what's written on a random piece of paper, without any further context," they said.

it was a baffling comment for a stranger to make. "what do you mean, even i won't?"

they smiled, a vague, placid sort of smile. "you know what i mean, don't you?"

their tone of voice was sort of uncanny. a little too soft, a little too slow. a chill ran down his spine.

he thought back to the paper, to the question. this was the sort of thing he would want to happen here, really. it was a little too perfect. there had to be some kind of reasonable explanation for it, but the surreal quality of the interaction made it feel almost like magic.

"are you focusing on it now?" they asked.

"well, i guess..." he mumbled.

"focus on it completely," they said. "focus on exactly what you want..."

even when they urged him like that, it was difficult to think about it too deeply. because that would mean fantasizing about the stranger in front of him, as they were talking to him, and looking at him. he had an idea of what sort of things might bubble up to the surface of his mind if he allowed them to.

"you're holding back, aren't you?" they murmured.

"how would you even know that?" he asked.

"because you don't have that empty look in your eyes yet."

they really were staring at his eyes. if he stared back...

blood was rushing to his face, the beginnings of a trance coming over him just at the thought that this stranger wanted, expected, him to feel that way.

they moved closer, putting their hands on his shoulders. "you're looking away from me? even though you really want to look deep into my eyes?"

it was enough to make his eyes flick up to theirs, to look, without a single second thought.

"that's right," they said softly. the immediate reinforcement was enough to keep him staring, enough to make him allow that fuzzy feeling to spread through his mind.

his arm, which had been holding the paper up, sank down to his side.

"can you think about it now?" they asked. "can you think about all of those things that you'd like to happen?"

"y... yes," he said quietly. "but i mean, it's just... it's just this..." his voice already sounded so distant, so unfocused. "i mean, i'll want... whatever you tell me."

their smile widened, in a genuine expression of fondness and affection and familiarity that struck him as stranger and more surreal than their more mysterious look from earlier. "then i'll tell you exactly what you want. exactly what you were hoping for."